With the recent news that the Royal Pirates are gearing up to make noise again, this time in another nation all together, it made us nostalgic for the bands that have come and gone since we started this humble blog in 2008. With each of the following bands, it’s been at least a couple years since we’ve heard any new material from them. In some cases, the crew may have disbanded, in others they may simply be on hiatus. Regardless, we’re hoping that we haven’t heard the last from them just yet.
In no particular order:
Seriously
Oh, Seriously… how we barely knew thee. In the 2009/2010 time frame, Seriously started making a splash around the music community. Headed by an aggressive PR campaign, a number of live shows, and the infectiously catchy single “Immaculate Addiction“, it seemed that the band was headed for big things. But it was all short lived and after abandoning their plans to release a single a month for a year, the band as a cohesive unit hasn’t been heard from since 2011.
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XOXO
XOXO isn’t fully a rock band, but more of an Acoustic/Soul/Fun/R&B outfit. But that’s exactly why they hold a place in our musical hearts. Their blend of genres and rich harmonies has been sorely missed since they released their Ready EP…. over two years ago. Sure, they released fantastic covers to Youtube every now and then but it’s just not the same. We want to hear some new original material from the troupe!
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afterschoolspecial
A few years back, afterschoolspecial was going a full media assault to grow their fan base outside their hometown of San Diego. Their blend of Power Rock and unconventional rap made for an intriguing listen and a fair debut album in the form of It’s All In Your Head. Music videos continued to be released from the project up through last year, although at some point, the rest of the band started to fade into the background and it became the DANakaDAN show, whom is still relatively active to this day.
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April Chase
From the very first time I heard April Chase, I was hooked on their particular brand of Pop/Rock with a dash of Punk. Unfortunately, it’s already been 3 years since they released their superb-Jesse-Barrera-produced-EP, Still Breathing. We’ve had a couple cover videos and unplugged performance clips since that time but unless you were able to catch one of their occasional gigs in the Bay Area, you likely haven’t heard much from them either.
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Daphne Loves Derby
The lead singer of Daphne Loves Derby, Kenny Choi, hasn’t disappeared completely – although he has opted to go back to school and seek out a career in Science/Medicine. Although he and the band had some mild success in the early/mid-2000s they’ve been unfortunately quiet the latter half of the decade and into the next, with their last full release dating back in 2007. “Hammers and Hearts” is one of my favorite tunes to this day and a perfect song for the summertime. If only they’d official regroup for another hurrah.
a-Tunes 